Gauguin and Polynesia Tickets On Sale at SAM
A troublesome artist goes tropical in this winter’s biggest exhibit.
Posted by: Allison Williams on Nov 14, 2011 at 11:00AM
3 Comments
When painter Paul Gauguin went to Tahiti, what he found was his new muse. His work might ring a bell—bright colors, Tahitian women, the lush tropics. But what about the art that was already on his adopted island? Seattle Art Museum pairs native South Pacific pieces with the Frenchman’s best in the show Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise, opening February 9. This is gonna be a big one, folks, and tickets are on sale now.
Seattle is the only American stop for the show, which shows how Gauguin was influenced by Tahitian, Marquesan, and Maori works. The museum expects lines to be long; book now for events like In the Studio with Hotel 1000, a curator-led talk about the exhibit on February 15 (with free hors d’oeuvres!).
Gauguin was always a bit of a troublemaker, so no wonder that he supplemented his painting with wood and ceramic sculpture—"things that resist," says SAM curator Chiyo Ishikawa. “He liked materials that push back,” she says. “He wanted to be contrary to pretty much everything. He needed to have conflict.” In Tahiti, Gauguin was charged with libel, fathered children with local mistresses, and died of syphilis—sounds like he got what he was looking for.
Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise is at Seattle Art Museum February 9–April 29.
Tags: Seattle Art Museum, Ticket Alerts, Art Events, Art Exhibits
“sounds like he got what he was looking for.”
This judgmental comment reminds me of what people were saying, and perhaps say today, about gays and AIDS. People rarely go out looking to contract a deadly disease. This snarky comment is, I hope, below the standards of Seattle Metropolitan. I hope you will remove it from the story.
Sylvie, no one wants a horrible medical condition. Most people know that tanning can lead to melanoma, but there are still plenty of tanning booths in business. On the other hand, if Gauguin had stayed home with his wife and family we would not have his fabulous Polynesian Masterpieces to enjoy from the safety (or not) of our lives. We make our choices, we live with the consequences.
I stand by my statement. It’s a sorry world when people express satisfaction that someone contracts a terrible disease, regardless of what they may have done to make themselves vulnerable.